Pakistani importers have booked around 315,000 tons sugar after duty cut, and orders for another 100,000 tonnes are expected in the coming days, an official said on Wednesday. Importers booked around 200,000 tons raw and 115,000 tons of refined sugar during the last two weeks, said a Finance Ministry official. "There is scope for another 100,000 to 150,000 tons worth of import orders, but traders have slowed down a bit to assess the market demand," he said.
On Wednesday, domestic sugar prices were hovering at Rs 27-28 per kg, and traders said they expected the market to shed at least two to three rupees by the end of this month--on the arrival of imported sugar.
Prices have already slipped from a four-year high of Rs 30 per kg in the first week of February after government's announcement of duty-free imports.
On Tuesday the government also eliminated a 6 percent withholding tax on imported sugar.
Pakistan's sugar output is expected to slip to 3.1-3.2 million tons in the current production year, from 4.0 million last year. Annual sugar consumption is 3.6 million tons.
Muhammad Najib Balagumwalla, chief executive of Karachi-based Seatrade (Pvt) Ltd, said traders had booked 110,000 tons of white refined sugar from Dubai-based Al-Khaleej Sugar Mill for February/June shipments. "Traders have also signed deals for purchase of 15,000 tons of beet white sugar from European Union," he said. "More deals are in the pipeline." Traders said a number of importers were negotiating deals with international commodity houses.
But Jehangir Khan Tareen, Minister for Industries and Production, said the government's import estimates of sugar for the year was around 300,000 to 350,000 tons. "Still we would not mind if traders bring some extra quantity in...let's say 100,000 to 200,000 tons. The extra stocks would help us in the next season," he added.
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